


Happy Birthday, Tadashi

by backwardsties95



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Birthdays, Grief/Mourning
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-22
Updated: 2015-02-22
Packaged: 2018-03-14 13:44:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3412844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/backwardsties95/pseuds/backwardsties95
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's Tadashi's birthday and it's time for a visit.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Happy Birthday, Tadashi

**Author's Note:**

> I made myself cry during this but I hope that it doesn't affect the quality. I was thinking about what they would do for Tadashi's birthday. So I made this.

When Hiro woke up that morning, he sat up straight and looked over with a grin to give his biggest birthday greeting. He even got the first few syllables out before he stopped short. The empty bed with that baseball cap on top looked right back at him. The same pain he felt rose back up inside of him. It was like a hole that had been punched through his chest, edges raw and bleeding when he realized that he was alone or what had happened. There were definite times where he curled into a ball on his bed and just crying, hating the world. _Why did it have to be him? Why did he have to go in that building?_

Regardless of the fact that there was no one there to hear, he said into the emptiness, "Happy birthday, Tadashi."

He got up and dressed into the clothes he always dressed in on that particular day. It took a moment to try and fix his hair to look at least a little decent. Once it appeared under control, he went down the stairs to where his Aunt Cass was waiting for him in one of her best dresses. When she saw him at the base of the stairs, she smiled softly.

"Good morning, Hiro," she said. "You wanna eat before we go?"

Hiro took a deep breath before he gave her a tight smile back. He shook his head, claiming he wasn't very hungry. She walked over, gave him a kiss on his forehead, then grabbed her keys. They walked out of the café with her arm around his shoulders and several gifts for Tadashi.

The drive was quiet. Aunt Cass didn't say anything. She was normally quiet on these days; they both were. Hiro clutched the things tightly in his arms without actually crushing them. They needed to look nice when they arrived. The familiar smell of the cake made Hiro smile. It was Tadashi's favorite. They would always make it for him and eat it after dinner. They even had a few candles for it. There was another stab at the raw edge of the hole when he thought about never seeing it blown out again. Aunt Cass reached over and took Hiro's hand with a light squeeze.

They pulled into the parking lot before stepping out. Aunt Cass helped out with half of the load. It was quiet - though it was never loud. Their steps were muffled by the grass as they walked. There was a light breeze that day. Hiro's hair blew into his face and a few strands of hair flew out of Aunt Cass's bun. (She had just gotten it long enough to put it into a proper bun.) It was still warm, making it a day that Tadashi would have loved to be out in. He could see himself pulling Tadashi outside to work on new designs. When they got to the plot that read "Tadashi Hamada", they stopped. Aunt Cass slowly got down on her knees to switch out the flowers with the fresh ones she bought the day before. She ran her hand along the lip of the stone, clearing off the leaves and grass that had blown on to it.

"Happy birthday, Tadashi," she whispered softly. "I am so proud of you. I love you so much. I wish you could be here with us today. We made your cake like usual. Hiro even helped out for once."

She looked over her shoulder at him with a smile. Tears brimmed her eyes, one even falling down her cheek. Hiro joined her on the ground, setting the cake down next to the flowers.

"Happy birthday, big bro." He smiled down at the engraved name. "Everyone at school says, 'Happy birthday', too. Honey came up with this new project she wishes she could show you. I think you would have really loved it. I have been working on Baymax as well. I'm sure he would tell you he missed you, if he could."

The thought of Tadashi rustling his hair as he smiled and told him he loved what his genius little brother had done made Hiro's vision grow blurry. He used the sleeve of his jacket to wipe at his face. It was a birthday, a day to be happy, and here he was about to cry. He leaned into his aunt as he couldn't stop the tears from falling after that. He wanted his brother back. He wanted to get hugs again whenever he came up with a great idea or made something amazing. Hell, he even wanted to be hung upside down from Tadashi's shoulders to "look for a new angle".

"We love you so much, Tadashi, and hope to see you again one day," said Aunt Cass before standing up and brushing off her knees.

Hiro was about to stand as well but when his arm brushed against his coat pocket. "Wait! We forgot something," he said. He pulled out the candles and a match box. He stuck the candles into the small cake one at a time. The match sparked to life as it flew against the side of the box. He lit every candle then proceeded to sing "Happy Birthday" softly. Aunt Cass joined in halfway, smiling at him. Once it was over, they just watched the candles flickering in the light wind. Hiro was about to lean over and blow it out himself when the wind picked up and blew it out before he could. Something told him that it was Tadashi that blew it out, however possible.

After a moment Hiro stood up, they bowed, and went back to the car. He asked if Aunt Cass could drop him off at school because he wanted to check on Baymax. He would walk home like normal once he was done. Aunt Cass smiled again and said she would wait at home. There was a promise of dinner that could be Tadashi's favorite. Today was Tadashi's day, whether he was here to enjoy it or not.

When he stood in front of the school, he stood there and remembered the day when he was first shown Baymax. He called it a nerd school, told Tadashi he didn't want in. Tadashi smirked like he knew exactly what would change his mind. Hiro had followed him into the school where he met all of his big brother's friends and saw the best thing yet: Baymax. His brother had been working so hard on him and he just made him perfect. It was Hiro's fault that Baymax had been left in that vortex so he had a duty to his brother and to Baymax to make sure that he got that big marshmallow back.

The clean smell of the hallways was refreshing. The click of his shoes was the only sound besides the faint whir from the fluorescent lighting. He went into his little work room where he closed the door soundly behind him and turned to face the little red box with a small smile.

Putting on a face (purely for theatrics), he straightened his back and said, "Ow."

There was a click from the container and a hiss as Baymax inflated in front of him. Even though it had been two years since Tadashi left, he still couldn't manage to look over the robot's shoulder. He doubted he would ever match his brother's height.

"Hello, Hiro," Baymax said in his automated yet pleased voice. "My sensor is reading some emotional distress due to grief. Would you like a physical embrace?"

"Can you show me Tadashi, Baymax?" Hiro asked, trying to keep himself calm. Looking at Baymax brought back the memory of how pleased and happy Tadashi looked when Hiro saw him. He was so proud of his creation. "Seeing Tadashi will make me feel better."

The videos Tadshi took with Baymax's camera started playing on his chest. All the little tweaks that could be seen as the videos progressed made Hiro laugh with tears flowing down his cheeks. He threw his arms around the robot's middle, weeping at the sound of his brother coming from the projection beneath his head.

"Are you feeling loss?" Baymax added, his arms wrapping around Hiro's small body.

"I'm feeling loneliness," Hiro replied. "I'm lonely. I wish Tadashi was here."

"Tadashi is here."

Hiro let out a deep breath. "I mean, _here_ , Baymax. Alive."

"That is something I cannot cure," said Baymax in his normal happy way. Could you call it happy still if it had a sad tone to it?

"I know, buddy. I know. I wish I could cure it as well." He pulled away to look at his brother's creation. He used his sleeve to wipe at his face. He smiled. "But this is all I can do. You were my brother's pride. I will see to it that you can help millions of people."

"You are wrong."

Hiro stopped.

"What do you mean I'm wrong?"

"You are Tadashi's pride. He felt great happiness when he spoke of you and when you were here. He loved you very much, Hiro," Baymax answered. He had said it matter-of-factly, like there was nothing to it and that it was just another thing. Hiro supposed that Baymax wouldn't understand what it meant. Those words were his life.

He fell to his knees in a sob. He covered his face with his hands. The hole in his chest ached and bleed, some areas healing. What Baymax told him had ripped the wound right open but also covered it at the same time. Baymax just held him until Hiro could manage to say, "I am satisfied with my care". There was a low hiss again before the click came. He looked up at the photo of Tadashi he had on his desk. The tears didn't stop as he smiled.

"Happy birthday, Tadashi, you nerd."


End file.
